Portable tool



H. A. HARRY PORTABLE TOOL July 22, 1-969 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 5, 1967 FIG. 2

34 FIG. I

40 FIG. 4

INVENTOR.

H.A.HARRY y 2, 1969 H. A. HARRY I 3,456,738

' PORTABLE TOOL I Filed July 5, 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Lao Q FIG. INVENTOR.

H.A.HARRY United States Patent 3,456,738 PORTABLE TOOL Henry A. Harry, 415 N. Country Club Drive, McHenry, Ill. 60050 Filed July 3, 1967, Ser. No. 650,931 Int. Cl. E21c /00; E21 11/00 US. Cl. 173-18 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A lightweight portable tool having adjustable fluid-pressure evacuated feet for attachment to a surface on which work is to be performed by a power appliance carried by the feet-equipped tool and featuring a self-contained electrically driven vacuum pump for evacuating the feet chambers and a pair of electrical switches, one carried by the tool for energizing the vacuum pump motor and the other being opened when the appliance is moved to a position away from the work and closed when the appliance is moved to a preselected position toward the work.

Background of the invention A tool of the character disclosed herein finds principal utility in the construction or building field, especially on walls and other upright surfaces to which the tool may be temporarily vacuum-affixed so as to facilitate such operations as drilling, tapping, reaming etc. and applying screws and other fasteners, etc. It is known, of course, to exploit vacuum chambers in attaching feet in general but such known appliances involve mainly pneumatic tools entailing the use of long, heavy air hoses, which are also used to create the vacuum, and the tool thereby becomes heavy and unwieldy and substantially defeats its own purpose.

Summary of the invention According to the present invention, an extremely lightweight portable tool is provided in which a self-contained tool-mounted vacuum pump, having its own electric motor, is employed, thus dispensing with the need for cumbersome air hoses and enabling the tool to be speedily and efficiently employed, particularly on walls and like surfaces where it would be otherwise difficult for the workman to locate and hold the tool while drilling, etc. This is especially true in the present-day rapid erection and fabrication of lightweight structures having sheet steel, plastic, etc., panels which are, according to modern methods, installed with self-drilling, self-tapping screws. In the preferred embodiment disclosed herein, the tool has a base from which rises a standard along which an electrically driven rotary tool is mounted for controlled movement toward and away from the work, together with an arrangement of electrical switch means for controlling the vacuum pump motor and the power tool motor. The tool has a control handle containing the switch for starting and stopping the vacuum pump motor and a second normally open switch is automatically closed after the support is located and vacuum-attached and when the tool is moved toward the work. Where the source of electrical energy is fairly remote from the work, it is necessary to use only a lightweight electrical line, be cause the vacuum pump, being driven by its own supportcarried electric motor, does not need a separate vacuum line to a remote pump. The vacuum feet are provided as a spaced apart pair, with provision being made for selectively adjusting the spacing between the feet.

Description of the drawings FIGURE 1 is a side elevation of the portable structure;

FIGURE 2 is an end elevation of the same;

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FIGURE 3 is a section substantially along the line 33 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary view seen from the end opposite to FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 5 is a section along the line 5-5 of FIG- URE 1;

FIGURE 6 is a section on the line 66 of FIGURE 5;

FIGURE 7 is a section on the line 77 of FIGURE 5;

FIGURE 8 is a section of a modified form of vacuum feet;

FIGURE 9 is a section of a modified form of vacuum seal;

FIGURE 10 is a section on the line 1010 of FIG- URE 3; and

FIGURE 11 is a schematic view illustrating the electrical and vacuum circuits.

Description of the preferred embodiments The portable structure comprises a support 20 including a base 22 and a standard or post 24 rigidly affixed to and rising from the base. The post is preferably of square section and is provided at one side with a toothed part or rack 26 flanked by a pair of longitudinal guide rabbets 28. The base 22 is preferably in the form of an angle member having an upright flange 30 fixed to the post 24 by cap screws 32 and a bottom flange 34 fixed by cap screws 36 to a pair of parallel, spaced apart horizontal plates 38. This structure is preferably made of lightweight steel, aluminum, etc., so as to keep the total weight of the tool quite low. With reference to the use of such directional terms as horizontal, upright, etc., it should be observed that these are used only for brevity and clarity and not by way of limitation, especially in view of the principal use of the structure on walls, etc., in which case the post or standard 24 would of course be horizontal.

The plates 38 serve to mount means comprising a pair of separate spaced apart feet 40, each of which includes a flat metal member 42 to the underside of which is bonded or otherwise affixed a peripheral seal means 44 that affords a vacuum chamber 46 opening to the surface to which the structure attaches itself. The seal means 44 is preferably a continuous strip of flexible material such as soft pliant rubber and is bordered by peripheral inner and outer lips 48 to improve the sealing function. In a modified form of seal strip 44' (FIGURE 9) the bottom of the strip may include a plurality of flexible ribs 50 intermediate peripheral lips 48. Although the flat members 42 and their associated seal means 44 are designed for use with flat surfaces, it is also possible to provide configured members and seals for use on, for example, corrugated walls, panels, etc. Such construction is illustrated in FIGURE 8, wherein a member 42" is shown as being of arcuate section, as is its associated seal means 44". Other configurations will of course suggest themselves from the present disclosure.

The feet 40 are mounted respectively on the plates 38 so as to be selectively adjustable as to spacing and for this purpose each foot has a pair of upright threaded members 52 fixed to its member 42 and projecting upwardly through transverse slots 54 in the associated plate 38. A wing nut 56 is threaded onto each threaded member 52. These wing nuts may of course be loosened to enable selection of the spacing of the feet 40 and will be tightpump. The pump-motor unit 60 may be of any type commercially available and the details form no part of the present invention, it being important, however, that the unit is carried directly by the support 20 and not at some remote location.

The air intake side of the pump P is connected by a line 64 to the feet 40 and a conventional filter F is interposed in this line. The pump exhaust is shown at 66. The connection of the filter to the nearer end of the line 64 is effected by a T 68 having a suitable fitting 70 in communication with the vacuum chamber 46 of the associated feet 40 (FIGURE 7), and the other end of the line 64 is connected to the other end of the other vacuum chamber 46 by a similar fitting 70 and an elbow 72. Because of the lateral adjustability of the feet 40, the line 64 is in the form of a flexible hose having a coil therein to accommodate the feet spacing, and the plates 38 are slotted at 74 to accommodate the T 68 and elbow 72 (FIGURES and 6). The fittings between the T 68, filter F and pump P, as at 76 and 78 are rigid so as to support the filter without additional brackets.

A tool carrier 80, herein the form of a U-shaped element, is carried by the post 24 in embracing relation thereto and includes a plurality of guide rollers 82 running in the post rabbets 28 (FIGURE and a cross shaft 84 to which is fixed a pinion 86 meshing with the post rack teeth 28. The outer end of the shaft 84 has a handle 88 by means of which the pinion 86 can be turned to cause the carrier 80 to run up and down the post 24, the rollers 82 of course stabilizing the carrier so as to make its course accurate.

The front or open side of the carrier is closed by a mounting plate 90 rigidly attached thereto and serving to mount a power tool of the rotary type, here in the nature of a conventional so-called electric drill 92 including its own body-encased electric motor M (FIGURE 11). The upper end of the tool body is attached to the plate by a bracket 94 and the lower end by a clamping band 96. The tool has a chuck 98, here shown as chucking a drill 100 but capable of chucking a variety of other tools as well as self-drilling and self-tapping screws and other fasteners, etc. The tool 92 as shown in FIGURE 1 is in its up or inactive position and is moved downwardly or toward the work to its working or active position. The end of the shaft 84 opposite to the handle 88 is biased in a clockwise direction by any suitable biasing means, such as clock type spring (not shown) wound within a housing 102 mounted on the carrier 80.

In order to facilitate use of the tool, the upper end of the post 24 has rigidly affixed thereto a handle 104, preferably of the piston-grip type in which is incorporated a biased-open electrical switch 106 electrically connected to the vacuum pump motor M as at 108 through a terminal box 110 mounted on the unit 60 and from which extends electrical conductor means 112 having a conventional pronged plug 114 for connection to a source of electrical energy.

The electrical conductor means includes additional conductor means 116 extending from the terminal box 110 to the drill motor M through a biased-closed switch 118 mounted at the upper end of the post 24 and held open when engaged by the carrier 80 in its upper or inactive position.

The lower portion of the post 24 is slotted at 120 and carries vertically adjustable stop 122 for selectively limiting downward movement of the carrier 80 and thus of the tool 92, as for limiting the depth of operation of the drill 100, for example.

As described above, the entire structure is of extremely lightweight construction and materials and it is therefore relatively easy for the user to handle and position, especially on vertical surfaces such as walls, panels, etc, or on ceilings and the like. When the feet 40 are properly located, the user squeezes the handle switch 106 to close it and this energizes the pump motor M to evacuate the foot chambers 46 and thereby to affix the tool structure to the floor, roof, wall, panel, ceiling, etc. The user then turns the handle 88 to rotate the pinion shaft 84 so as to move the tool 92 and carrier 80 toward the work, at which time the switch 118, biased to close but held open by the carrier in its up position, closes and energizes the tool motor M. When the work is accomplished, the operator causes the tool to return to its up position, again breaking the electrical circuit as the carrier 80 opens the switch 118 to stop the tool motor M, and when he releases the switch 106 it opens and breaks the circuit to the pump motor M, and the vacuum seal at the feet 40 deteriorates so that the tool structure can be removed and replaced at a new location.

Since the only remote connection is via the electrical conductor 112, which may be of any length and which is comparatively light in weight and easy to handle, the portability of the tool is materially increased. The ability of the feet to be adjusted enables the feet to straddle intermediate obstacles such as beams, etc. and further enables the installation of fastener attachments of relatively large diameters or other lateral dimensions. Also, when the feet are constructed according to FIGURE 8 or variations thereof, adjustability of the feet accommodates configured panels, etc., of various pitches between peaks and valleys of the corrugations. The automatic switch means 118 further enhances the efficiency of the tool in use.

I claim:

1. A lightweight portable tool, comprising: a support having base means, foot means carried by the base means and including an under portion having peripheral seal means adapted to engage a surface and providing a vacuum chamber opening to such surface, a vacuum pump carried directly by the support means and having an air intake connected to and for evacuating the chamber, a first electric motor carried directly by the base and drivingly connected to said first motor, a power tool movably carried by the support for movement between active and inactive positions and including a second electric motor, electrical conductor means connected to the motors and adapted to be connected to a source of electrical energy and including first and second separate switches for respectively controlling the first and second motors, said first switch being manually operable to selectively start and step the first motor independently of the second motor and the second switch being arranged to be automatically opened and closed respectively according to the inactive and active positions of the tool.

2. The invention defined in claim 1, in which the base means includes flat under surfaces, the foot means includes a pair of separate spaced apart feet disposed respectively beneath said surfaces, each foot having its own seal means and vacuum chamber connected to the pump intake, and means slidably adjustably mounting the feet on said surfaces for enabling selectively variation of the spacing between said feet.

3. The invention defined in claim 1, including adjustable stop means cooperative between the support and tool for varying the location of the inactive position of the tool.

4. The invention defined in claim 1 in which the tool has a control handle and the first switch is carried by said handle.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,364,165 l/192l Way 173-33 3,246,546 4/1965 Madden 7734.5 X 3,351,143 11/1967 Seibold et al. 17332 X ERNEST R. PURSER, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 

